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<title>It Was the Candlelit Dinner by Kendra_Storm</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023108">It Was the Candlelit Dinner</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendra_Storm/pseuds/Kendra_Storm'>Kendra_Storm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>It Was the... [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Romance, Fluff, M/M, Requited Love, Sequel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:23:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>850</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendra_Storm/pseuds/Kendra_Storm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin visits Arthur's chambers after getting settled back into Camelot and is surprised to find Arthur standing awkwardly in front of a candlelit dinner.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>It Was the... [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>259</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It Was the Candlelit Dinner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Merlin had been thinking about that hug all day. He knew that he was closer with Arthur than anyone else, but he never knew that he meant <em>that</em> much to him. Seeing Arthur waiting for him at the gates felt like he was finally able to take in a full breath of air, and when Arthur had hugged him, he took all that breath away.</p><p>Sinking into the warm water he had prepared for himself, Merlin let out a sigh of relief. He still couldn’t get used to the ache caused by riding a horse; he hurt in places he didn’t even know <em>could</em> hurt. Merlin scrubbed at his skin, removing the dirt that had been like an extra layer of skin while he was in Ealdor. Sure, he was sure he didn’t smell like a meadow of flowers, but did Arthur really need to tell him he stunk right after he just got back?</p><p>Well, he’ll just have to make sure he smells amazing before he drags himself up to Arthur’s chambers tonight.<br/>Merlin’s hands stalled in their scrubbing at that thought. What did Arthur want with him? There couldn’t possibly be three weeks worth of chores waiting for him, could there? If he walked into a room full of dirty laundry and stacks of dirty plates, Merlin was quitting, destiny be damned.</p><p>As Merlin changed into a fresh set of clothes that Gaius had so kindly left out for him, he started to feel nervousness creep in. He tutted at himself. This was Arthur, his best friend and <em>king</em>. Obviously the hug was just a friendly one, no matter how much Merlin’s heart wanted to say otherwise.</p><p>Though the bath had helped, climbing the stairs up to Arthur’s chambers was still painful. Taking a steadying breath, Merlin opened the door… and immediately burst out laughing.</p><p>“What?” Arthur asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion though his rigid posture remained.</p><p>“You look like you’re constipated.” Merlin tried to stifle his laughter, but Arthur was standing stick-straight, his hands clasped behind his back and a look of consternation on his face. Arthur scoffed, though he relaxed his posture a bit.</p><p>“Come, Merlin. Sit.” Arthur pulled out a chair from his table, the scraping noise that followed surprisingly loud in the silence of the room. Merlin walked over and sat down, still confused. He finally tore his eyes away from Arthur to look at the table and was pleasantly surprised to find iit filled with food and lit candles.</p><p>The food was all his favorites, something that Merlin never thought Arthur would ever pay attention to. He swallowed, trying to calm the tide of emotions that flooded over him at that thought. He cracked a smile. “Are you trying to woo me, Arthur?”</p><p>Arthur stumbled mid step and smacked his hip on the corner of the table. “Motherfu—”</p><p>He cut himself off, and Merlin chuckled to himself. Was Arthur as nervous as he was?</p><p>They ate and talked about Merlin’s mother and Ealdor, how sore he was, what Arthur got up to while he was gone, and Merlin almost forgot how odd it was for a manservant to be having a candlelit dinner with his master.</p><p>Arthur cleared his throat, and Merlin looked up from where he was attacking the meat on his plate to see a look of determination on Arthur’s face. “Merlin.”</p><p>Merlin waited a few moments for him to continue, but when he didn’t, he said, “Arthur.”</p><p>“These past few weeks have been quite eye-opening for me, and I’ve realized some things about you and me.”</p><p>Merlin’s heart rate skyrocketed, and he tried to ease the tension by cracking a joke. “Are you firing me? Because that would be a pretty awful thing to do considering I <em>just</em> got back, and—”</p><p>Arthur’s hand shot across the table and gripped Merlin’s. “Merlin. Let me finish.”</p><p>Merlin swallowed and nodded.</p><p>“Having you gone was difficult. Much harder than I thought it would be. I don’t think I realized how much I relied on you and enjoyed your companionship until I was without it, and I would lie awake at night and… think of you. I know that I have no right to say this, but… I think I’m in love with you.”</p><p>Merlin blinked. Then blinked again. He would have thought he had misheard Arthur had he not had an endearingly vulnerable look on his face. “So… you <em>are</em> wooing me?”</p><p>Arthur chuckled softly, breaking eye contact to look away. “Yes, Merlin, I am wooing you.”</p><p>“Good.” Merlin said, resuming eating. After a few moments, he looked up to see Arthur staring at him. “What?”</p><p>“That’s all you have to say?”</p><p>“Oh,” Merlin set down his fork and beamed, “I think I’m in love with you, too.”</p><p>To say that Merlin was caught off guard by Arthur jumping across the table to wrap him in a hug as tight as the one yesterday would be an understatement, but Merlin wasn’t complaining. As he wrapped his own arms around Arthur, he amusedly thought to himself that he could get used to this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow, a sequel so soon?? I'm feeling inspired. Thank you to everyone who commented on my last fic! It was amazing to see you all so invested! I'm thinking about potentially turning this into a series-series. Let me know what you guys think!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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